My parents bought our house about 10 years ago and we moved to the suburbs rather happily. But within the last few years our next door neighbors, who moved in a couple years after we did, have made life on Otero Place rather annoying. Just for future reference, we live in a culdesac, and more specifically, we live at the back of the culdesac so we have easily the biggest driveway and probably the widest (not biggest) yard. It's also probably best to know that the house next door in which these neighbors reside has a pool in the backyard and a curved driveway.
It's no secret that there are friends and family at our house rather often. One friend of the family is known pretty much as a personal handyman/mechanic and comes over and stays literally for hours. Years ago, he would come over and park "nose in" in front of our mailbox. He tries not to do that anymore because our neighbors sent us a letter-with pictures- telling us that we were blocking their driveway and if we would please consider parking somewhere else. First off, being a culdesac, parking space is pretty sparce in general, so if you come up with a spot, please point it out to me. Second, it's a public street. And third, it's on our side of the property line so why where we park is any of your concern is beyond me. Hear me out, I would feel a lot worse if we were blocking their driveway, but we aren't. The problem is that they park their cars on what is supposed to be their yard and feel they're entitled to more room than they are and for some reason, the more than enough space that their actual driveway provides is not enough...Seriously, a child could back their cars out of the driveway even with any of our cars parked nose in like that. I could probably do it blindfolded, just saying. I think my parents just had a nice chuckle about the letter and moved on. I heard the woman of their household came over and talked to my mom about it shortly after the letter was sent, but I could be wrong about that...
Not too long after that, the base of their pool got a crack in it which could not be repaired, it needed to be replaced. The entire thing. So of course, they take this opportunity to remodel their yard. With a small tractor. This small tractor would leave grooves where they drove it in and out of their back yard through the front yard, while they dumped huge piles of dirt and debris and garbage in front of our yard where our friends would normally park their cars. Because, again, property lines mean nothing to these people and for some reason they're entitled to that spot, public street or not. And this pile of filth didn't just sit there for a day, a week or even a month. It was there for months. Even when the county came in to re-pave the neighborhood, they cleaned it up for like 24 hours so the street could be repaved and as soon as they could, they dumped it right back where it was. All the while as it sits there, neighborhood animals would use it as a bathroom and their kids would climb on it and play in it. Seriously! It was disgusting! So anyway, they've got huge grooves in their front yard, piles of dirt and debris in front of ours and a general lack of consideration for what they do or how it affects us. And my parents, okay, my dad believes in "live and let live" and "being the bigger person" blah blah blah. Eventually the dirt got moved the groves were replaced with cheap and unkempt sod, but only on the one side, the other side remained rocks and weeds. Naturally of course, since that's the side they park on and the side that the weeds creep over from into our yard.
Going back to what I said about us having the biggest driveway; we have a 3-car garage and a side spot for a camper/boat/or in our case, a 1978 Jeep that might not even be running...So when I started driving, it was no problem, because there was a spot for my car, but when my sister started driving that was a-whole-'nother deal. The nose in street spot and her car became well acquainted. And now they get cozier because my dad bought yet another car because he got sick of paying for gas for the SUV he was driving to and from work (at like Peoria and Arapahoe) everyday; so to re-cap, that's 5 cars (not including the jeep). And even with all the driveway space in the world, that's a lot of wheels for four people. Luckily, we make it work and there's only one car on the street at any time (unless we have company).
Here's an interesting side note: my dad's big investment (besides the new car-new to him, it's almost as old as I am), was executing the much needed remodel of our basement. So again, with handymen parking trucks and walking in and out of the house almost constantly, the driveway was pretty crowded. My mom decided to park her car in front of their and the person next to them's yards-parallel to the sidewalk where it curves a little. And right after that they started parking there. It was as if they didn't realize that they could park there. Ah! Revelation! They really do have no idea where their property lines are, poor things. I thought it was a complex of entitlement, thank God that's not the case. Gag me.
We didn't really hear anything more from them until preseason football this year: Broncos vs. Bears. My dad and sister are huge Jay Cutler fans, so of course we had to have a party with lots of food and some good friends, which naturally brings the parking situation into question. I was working that night, but would be home eventually and in enough time to even catch some of the game. I came home that night looking forward to changing clothes, seeing friends and family, eating good food and just relaxing in general. My cousin was already parked in front of our yard, but she was far enough to one side that I could squeeze into the other side; you guessed it, their side. Their kids were standing outside and one of them runs inside to taddle on me and instead of just running inside and avoiding a confrontation, I wasn't fast enough. And they came to their door and yelled at me asking if I would move my car. All I said was "no" and walked inside. First off, I'm still on my side of the property line, it's a public street, and you don't have any more respect for me or the situation than to yell at me from your front door like the hicks ya'll are? Seriously? Nope. If they had handled it differently I might've considered it, but I was too tired and too excited to go home to be bothered with the whiny children next door. So I go inside, go straight to my room and change and then walk downstairs and tell my mom the whole story in front of everyone. My dad was outside, and when I found him and told him, hell broke loose ya'll. My dad is cool with whatever, until you mess with me or my sister. Fact. He was almost without a voice by the end of the night from screaming threats and obscenities at the neighbors house. It was pretty funny, actually. And luckily was not responded with police or even another letter.
Shortly after that, as if you couldn't tell, these people are by no means "intellectuals", and they hit their mailbox with one of their cars while backing out of their "driveway"- it's actually their yard. And instead of fixing it properly, they take two small pieces of wood and screw one end into their mailbox and the other into ours. So now not only are we their crutch but we're forever associated with their mistake, lack of a brain stem, laziness, etc. How neighborly.
Property line is pretty clear to me.
My sister came out to her car yesterday to a lovely, anonymous letter claiming that the author was a member of the board of the HOA, riddled with ridiculous accusations, threats and more than the occasional misspelled word and grammar error... It said that parking nose into the culdesac was illegal and against HOA standards, it is in fact, neither. It also said that our yard is in disrepair and that we leave our garbage on the sidewalk outside our house for more than 24 hours both are against HOA standards, and both are also not true. Even with the busy household that we have, the only way garbage would be out that long would be the fault of the garbage men, and it happens, but only rarely. And my dad spent a lot of money this spring to have a huge patch of our front yard re-done because the weeds from the neighbors unkempt yard/driveway completely destroyed it (I'm going to attach pictures below of my dad's beautiful yard, and the way we park our cars so you can see it for yourself). It goes on to say that we have "48 hours to fix these problems before the cops are called and we're served a fine or a tow" or whatever (I'm paraphrasing). First of all, one member of the HOA board would not break free individually or anonymously and leave a letter folded up and water damaged on my sister's wind sheild at 6:30 in the morning. In fact their first move is a phone call then a letter with a 7 days time limit to correct whatever the problem may be. Second, it's a public street, and my mom called the sheriff's office to make sure and she read the HOA guidelines and it is not illegal in either form to park your car the way my sister's been parking her car and friends and family have been parking their cars for the last 10 years. And lastly, 48 hours? That's a Saturday. I'm going to the store now, to get popcorn, because I CAN'T WAIT to see the look on the cop's face when you tell him that he's here to give us a ticket/tow our car for something that is perfectly legal on a SATURDAY, no less. I sincerely hope they do call the cops so that someone in an actual position of authority can tell them to grow up.
Our neighbors must think we're as stupid as they are that we would fall for yet another letter (sadly, without pictures, can't be too conspicuous, now can we?), and be stupid enough to take it seriously without double checking the facts. Good try though, bless their hearts.
FYI:
It might be entertaining on some level, but there comes a point, where we gotta have some peace for the situation, and I genuinely hope the cops do come and tell them the not so secret truth. Life is unfair, sometimes your awesome neighbors have bigger driveways, lots of cars and lots of parties and friends, and there's nothing you can do about it; it's a public street and our property line. Live and let live or FUCK OFF. Unfortunately, at the end of the day, it makes me sad that these are people who vote and procreate, and there are more out there just like them. And that they don't have anything better to do with their pathetic lives than fret over the goings-on of our cars on a public street and send us pathetically hilarious and inaccurate letters about it. It's just sad. It might not have been so sad or hilarious had they done their research and not committed fraud, but it is what it is. And we're over it. And I honestly hope they don't try to approach me about it; the cops might be called for real because I'm not sure I can control what I would do or say in that situation...
These are the pictures of our yard that apparently is in disrepair and apparently needs work. Please let me know if you have any suggestions...I wish these pictures were better, but fall takes it's toll and really doesn't do it justice.
This is the situation next door. Seriously.
